Steve Quayle News Alerts

August 1, 2002

A bomb detonated by a cell phone that blew apart a Jerusalem university cafeteria claimed victims from around the world, five of them American citizens, in what a violent Islamic group called revenge for an Israeli attack.

Hamas took responsibility for the blast Wednesday that shattered the cafeteria at the Frank Sinatra International Student Center at the heavily-guarded Mt. Scopus campus of the Hebrew University, killing seven people and wounding more than 80. The cafeteria was a popular gathering spot for Jewish, Arab and foreign students.

Five Americans were killed; at least two of them had dual citizenship, police said Thursday. Four Americans and three South Koreans were among the wounded.

One of the dead was Benjamin Blutstein, 25, of Susquehanna Township, Pennsylvania, who was on a two-year study program to be a teacher of Jewish studies, officials in his hometown said. The others were David Gritz, 24, who holds dual American-French citizenship; and Marla Bennet, 24, whose hometown wasn't known, Jerusalem police spokesman Kobi Zrihen said.

A family spokesman identified another slain American as Janis Ruth Coulter, 36, an assistant director of graduate studies based at Hebrew University's New York office. She had been escorting American students to Israel when the attack occurred.

Another was an Israeli with American citizenship whose name wasn't released, Zrihen said Thursday.

The two slain Israelis, Lavina Shapira, 53, and David Ludovisky, 29, were to be buried Thursday in Jerusalem.

Unlike other recent Palestinian attacks, this was not a suicide bombing, said Jerusalem police spokeswoman Sigal Toledo. "The bomb was in a bag that was planted on a table in the center of the restaurant," she said.

The bomb was detonated by remote control, by means of a cellular phone, said an Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Hamas said the attack marks a change in strategy. It will now use bombs instead of suicide bombers following Israeli punishments against the families of suicide bombers by demolishing their homes and exiling them to Gaza.

Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, speaking from Washington, rejected claims by Hamas that this was a retaliatory attack. "Hamas was killing Israelis before the attack on Shehadeh and has continued since then. That is their objective." He called on the Palestinians to declare organizations that organize these attacks illegitimate. "They are not just hurting us, they are also harming the future interests of the Palestinian nation."

The PA strongly condemned the attack and said in a statement that it considers Prime Minister Ariel Sharon "responsible for this circle of violence."

Jerusalem deputy police chief Dep.-Cmdr. Ilan Franco said there was no specific warning about an attack on campus, although police were investigating warnings of an attack in Jerusalem. Police added that the university campus was among the most secure places in the city. Following the attack, police detained a number of Arab workers from the cafeteria and others from the surrounding area. They said they feared a worker or a student had been involved.

According to Israel Radio, one of its reporters was surprised when interviewing Hamas about the attack to discover how much it knew about the layout of the campus.

This is the first attack on the campus since violence broke out in September 2000. Students said they were particularly upset that a campus where both Jews, Arabs, and many international students study together was the target. The school's student population of 23,000 includes 5,000 Arabs and 1,500 international students.

Alastair Goldrein, 19, from Liverpool, England, said the cafeteria was a gathering place for students of all backgrounds.

"I was on my way to lunch. There was a huge, huge explosion. Everything shook and then there was this deathly silence," said Goldrein, who has been taking courses in Jewish studies for the past year. "I ran in. There were people lying around wailing, covered in blood. Scenes that are indescribable, clothes and flesh torn apart."

Sitting, still shaking on the pavement, Arab-Israeli student Abir Salma, 18, said she was walking across the courtyard by the cafeteria with a friend. They had planned to register for the next school year. The friend suddenly decided she wanted a drink and promised Salma she would quickly catch up with her.

"She walked into the cafeteria and then I heard the explosion," Salma said. Since then she has been calling her friend's cellphone and the hospitals but hadn't been able to find her.

The attack came on the first day of the university's overseas program, only an hour before the placement test for Hebrew language classes. Students were also registering for the coming school year. The university continued to hold as many activities as possible in the afternoon, including giving students the option to take the placement test. Classes will also be held as scheduled today.

University President Menahem Magidor, who extended the university's condolences to the bereaved and wishes for a speedy recovery for the wounded, said the administration was deeply shocked and saddened by the this terror attack.

He said the murderous attack was intended to put an end to the possibility of coexistence, and the administration would fight with all its strength to prevent the terrorists from achieving this.

"The university campus on Mt. Scopus and the other university campuses have served and continue to serve as an example of co-existence between Israelis and Palestinians," he said.

Magidor said the university is intent upon continuing its research and instruction and all other activities. The wave of terror would not affect this, he said.

Prof. Robert Wistrich, who is about assume the position of director of the university's Center for the Study of Anti-Semitism, said the bombing crossed a red line.

Wistrich, who had been meeting with two German colleagues near the when the blast shook the campus, said that many of the people at the university had thought that although most of the red lines had been crossed, there was some residual respect that put the academic world beyond the limits.

"This is a grim message that no target is off limits," Wistrich said.

However, he added, what was shocking was that a European delegation had met with Sheikh Ahmed Yassin of Hamas, a group that has been classified as a terror organization.

"It shows that the Europeans are playing the wrong game," he said, adding that such talks only encourage terror, rather than tempering it.

US President George W. Bush and other world leaders condemned the attacks.

The security cabinet meeting after the blast, decided Israel would retaliate, Israel Radio said.

The government has slightly eased the tough restrictions placed on Palestinian movements, but the latest attacks could lead to even tougher measures.

"Israel is fighting a pitched battle against terror and for the right to walk down the street, take a bus, or sit in a cafeteria without the fear of being decimated by Palestinian terrorism," said David Baker of the Prime Minister's Office.

Itim, AP, and Muhammad Najib contributed to this report.
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